Health Committee on April 16th, 2013

Evidence of meeting #80 for Health in the 41st Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was technology.

A recording is available from Parliament.

On the agenda

Technological Innovation

MPs speaking

Also speaking

Andrew Williams President and Chief Executive Officer, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance

Carolyn McGregor Canada Research Chair in Health Informatics, Professor and Associate Dean of Research, Faculty of Business and IT, University of Ontario Institute of Technology

Branden Shepitka Emergency Department Health Record Project Lead, Ramsey Lake Health Centre, Emergency Department, Health Sciences North

Doug Coyle Professor, Epidemiology and Community Medicine, University of Ottawa

Pascal-A Vendittoli Professor of Surgery, Funded Clinical Researcher, As an Individual

5:15 p.m.

President and Chief Executive Officer, Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance

Andrew Williams

I agree with that. We have some discretionary funding for IT every year and we look at different projects. A good example is the one I talked about earlier where we're pushing out information to family physician offices. We would identify whether or not it was going to improve accessibility, improve quality of care, reduce costs, and then we pilot it with one particular group, determine whether or not the benefits actually are there, and then if they are, we roll it out further.

We try to introduce innovation in a planned way, but we do it in small increments because the costs could absolutely handcuff us as an organization.

5:15 p.m.

NDP

Matthew Kellway NDP Beaches—East York, ON

To both of you, do you consider the fact that there may in fact be a new technology around the corner? One of the things I'm thinking about is simply the pace. I get that you're going to fit the technology to the patient, but that assumes a static level of technology. The concept of innovation is that there are going to be new opportunities and new technologies that one would be able to fit to the patient all the time.

These are huge investments, presumably. How do you manage that piece of it, or is that not part of your considerations at all, what may be coming?

5:15 p.m.

Conservative

The Chair Conservative Joy Smith

Excuse me. I'm so sorry to interrupt that question, but the bells are ringing and I must suspend now. I want to thank our committee.

Perhaps you want to get back to Mr. Kellway with a written response or give your written answer to the clerk.

Thank you so much for coming today. It is very much appreciated.

The committee is adjourned.